Into the Long Death
by Lyrastales
Summary: Harry and Ginny undertake a mission of mercy, and Harry discovers that he is not as ready as he thought to let go of the past. Please also see notes at the end of the story.


**Three**

"Ready?" Harry asked.

Ginny nodded. "Ready."

He flung a jelly-legs jinx at her with all his strength. She blocked it, but he was already following up with a fireball, which she froze and sent flashing back toward him. Dodging adroitly, he cast a stinging hex that she dealt with easily, transforming it into a bat-bogey hex for good measure.

The next set of flames leapt silently at Ginny; this time she transformed them into a ring of fire and sent it arcing toward Harry.

Oh, yes, she was good - at least as capable as any of his fellow Aurors. They batted the flames back and forth, almost as if they were passing a Quaffle, except that each time the heat grew fiercer and the crackling of the hungry flames more urgent. Finally, he sliced through the fire and for an instant his world was shaded in reds with Ginny at its apex, her hair flaming around her shoulders like a halo.

Then he quenched the blaze and the field was quiet and calm once more, the sweet smell of newly cut grass suddenly perceptible through the smoke.

They grinned at one another, flushed and panting.

"Good enough, you think?" Ginny asked as she removed the concealment charms that had protected their battle from view.

"As good as we'll ever be," said Harry. "And if that's not enough..."

"It will be."

She was so beautiful as she stood there, a small, determined figure in the long grass. He cleared his throat. "Look, if this doesn't work..."

"Then we'll know we died trying to make things right," she said.

He smiled. "How do you always know the right thing to say?"

"Because I love you," she said simply.

He wished he could draw her down into the grass right there and forget all about what they were planning. But they had decided on this mission together; they could not walk away now. "Whatever happens," he said, "even if we don't survive, I'll still be glad we had this time together."

She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "I intend to survive this, Potter, so you'd better survive it, too. Why else did I let you put me through such a rigorous training programme?"

He wrapped his arms around her, relishing her warm softness as she moulded against him. But the Resurrection Stone rested in his pocket between them, and he pulled back.

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing. I just want to get this over with."

"Well, then." She looked up at him, her jaw set. "Let's do it."

* * *

><p><strong>Two<strong>

The cave was as dark and oppressive as Harry remembered it being; perhaps more so now that he knew how Regulus had died, and understood the nature of the beings that lurked in its depths. He and Ginny walked in single file, their wands lighting the way.

Far away, he could just make out the faint glow from the island. Goosebumps prickled his back as he remembered the cold grasp of the Inferi who had attacked him the last time he'd set foot there. Today, they were attempting to release those same creatures. It seemed an impossibly foolhardy mission.

With his free hand, he fingered the stone in his pocket. The last time he'd used it, he'd seen his parents, Sirius and Remus; his heart clenched at the mere memory of that encounter. They'd looked so happy and so carefree, and he'd missed them all so much, both before and since.

Of course, he had a new life now, and a new family in the Weasleys. But sometimes he yearned for the old one, and longed to give those whom he had loved first just a little more life. A little more of the time that had been snatched from them.

"Harry." Ginny touched his arm and he whirled around. "You okay?" He could not see her face in the darkness, but her voice radiated concern.

"Yeah," he said firmly and banished his ghosts.

"I suppose they're all still there, under the water," she said when they had moved on. "I mean, they didn't... die, or whatever, when Voldemort did?"

"Let's find out." Stooping, Harry scrabbled on the path until he found a small, jagged stone. He lobbed it into the lake, careful to ensure that it travelled a safe distance before making impact.

A dark shape flew out of the water and Ginny's wand flashed. Inferius met fire and fell back into the lake with a huge splash. "Better get ready," Ginny called.

Harry scrambled to his feet, annoyed with himself for being so thoughtless. He would never have done such a stupid thing if he hadn't been so preoccupied with thoughts of the Resurrection Stone and what it could do... But no more creatures followed the first one; the water lapped softly at the edge of the path for a moment and then was calm.

They continued in silence. Harry was thinking of Regulus again; of how much courage it must have taken to follow Kreacher along this path, knowing that he was walking to his death. He was another person who had died young - at seventeen, the age Harry had been when he had walked into the Forbidden Forest to die.

What would Sirius have thought if he'd known how his brother had really died? Might it have helped; might it have salved some of the bitterness that had overwhelmed him in that last year of life?

Harry halted. The last time he had been here, he had wondered how on earth Dumbledore knew where the boat was concealed. Now he thought he could sense it himself, and when he reached down cautiously with one hand, he found the damp, icy chain at the first attempt. "_Specialis revelio_," he murmured, and suddenly the chain shone greenish black at their feet.

"Cloak," Ginny said quietly when the boat touched the bank.

He pulled it out. "You wear it."

"Are you sure? It's yours."

"Yeah, but I've got the stone." It seemed right, somehow, for each of them to have one of the Deathly Hallows. And if the cloak truly allowed the wearer to hide from Death, he wanted Ginny to be wearing it.

There was a moment of electric anticipation as the boat set off. They hadn't been at all sure that the cloak would fool Voldemort's enchantments, and had been prepared to make a stand right there on the bank. But the lake remained glassily calm, and Harry took a deep breath. One more obstacle cleared. One more step toward their goal. The real test would come when they reached the island, but they were close - so very close now.

They slid across the water in silence. Harry did not look down, but his thoughts were fixed on the creatures under the water - the monsters, as he had thought of them last time he was here. He was still terrified of them, but now he felt pity, too. They hadn't chosen to be brought here. That crime was Voldemort's, and for that, the Inferi had been trapped here for twenty years, or perhaps even longer - waiting in the darkness to do Voldemort's bidding.

He hoped they would take what he offered them today. Partly because if they didn't, he and Ginny would probably be dead very shortly - but also because he hated the idea of them lurking here, lost and unquiet in the gloom.

When the boat nudged the land on the far side, Ginny sprang onto the rock, rolling up the cloak as she did so. Apparently she had enjoyed the ride as little as Harry had. She took his hand and they strode toward the pedestal in the centre of the island.

Together, they peered into the bowl from which Dumbledore had drunk, and Regulus. It was empty. For a moment, Harry's mind was filled with memories of Dumbledore gasping and weeping, of himself refilling the goblet and pushing it at Dumbledore again and again, while Dumbledore pleaded for mercy.

He threw off the memories with a shake of his head and felt for the Resurrection Stone; suddenly he was very aware of its power, as he had never been in sunlight.

"Now?" asked Ginny. She was standing very close, so close that his arm tingled with her nearness.

"Now," he answered and grasped the stone inside his pocket. "I love you," he added quickly. "Just in case this doesn't work."

She kissed him hard. "It _will_ work," she said, "but I love you, too."

When they were touching, it was easy to forget where they were; he had to wrench his mind back to the present.

"Right." He pulled out the ring. "I'm going to do this."

She squeezed his other hand, then let it fall. "Okay." There was the slightest tremor in her voice. "I've got your back."

"I know."

* * *

><p><strong>One<strong>

The stone flashed dark silver and beautiful in the wand light. Now that he had it back, Harry found it hard to believe that he had left it behind so easily that night in the forest, when he had walked to meet death with his loved ones by his side. Well, he had retrieved it easily, too, despite his assertion to Dumbledore that he did not know where it had fallen. The path he had taken that night would not soon be erased from his memory.

He pointed his wand at his throat. "_Sonorus_." Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes, picturing the page that he had memorised from _The Necromancer's Book of Shadows and Spells_. "Listen to me, all you who dwell here!" His voice echoed around the cavern; beside him, Ginny circled, wand scanning the darkness for signs of movement. "Inferi, your master is dead. You are free to return to the long death." He looked around, but the lake surface was utterly still. "Inferi!" he called again. "In Voldemort's name, I summon you. Voldemort summoned you from death, but he is dead. Return to the peace you deserve."

He had reached the end of the speech that he and Ginny had prepared so carefully; glancing uncertainly at her, he began again. "Listen to me, all you-"

"Harry," Ginny exclaimed, "they're awake!"

He looked down and had to force himself to remain steady. Below the surface of the water, pale faces were visible, dappling the lake like lily pads. With a shudder, he saw that those closed to the island had their eyes open and fixed on him.

They were watching. Were they listening, too? He swallowed and started again.

"Listen to me, all you who dwell here!" He tried to look straight ahead, but kept glancing down to check that those faces were not moving nearer, not preparing to attack. "Inferi, your master is dead. You are free..." Repeating the lines, he spared an instant to thank Ginny mentally for insisting that he learn them by heart. He could never have spoken so eloquently otherwise while filled with such dread; could never have filled his voice with such authority while his heart thudded so strongly that it seemed as if it, too, must have been amplified.

He was taking a breath before launching into his speech for a fourth time when the Inferi surfaced, shambling from the water like puppets on invisible strings.

Harry and Ginny backed against the plinth, but the Inferi were approaching from every direction, a true army of the dead. If the plan didn't work, there was not much hope of survival here.

Ginny squeezed his arm. "You can do this, Harry," she said calmly.

He swallowed again. "Your master is dead," he said in his normal voice as they closed in. "You are free to return there yourselves."

The Inferi gave no sign of hearing; instead they crowded forward until they were all around Harry and Ginny, regarding them with lifeless eyes.

"How long do we wait?" Ginny asked, her voice higher than usual.

"Until they attack," he answered, setting his jaw and forcing himself to maintain eye contact with the closest of the creatures. He had been a man, once; sparse strands of blond hair clung to his skull, and he wore the remains of what might have been an Auror uniform.

They seemed to stand like that for ages, back to back with the plinth between them, Harry repeating his litany, while the Inferi crowded around and watched. Finally, the one at whom Harry had been staring cocked his head.

"How?" he asked in a voice that was mostly air.

"The only way we know," Harry said, looking straight at the Inferius. "Through fire."

He dropped the Resurrection Stone at his feet, and Ginny's wand blazed on cue. As stone and magic collided, the fireball spell exploded into a ring of blue flames, which pulsated between Harry and Ginny.

The Inferi closest to the fire shifted, but were prevented from retreating by their fellows, who had pressed in close behind them.

"You've been here for twenty years, tormented when you should have been at peace," Harry called. "Now your master is dead, and you can be free. But you have to choose it. We won't force you."

He was conscious of Ginny pouring energy into the fire, which was already scorching one side of his face. Was he going to have to immolate himself to convince them?

A figure stepped forward and grasped Harry's arm. "Dead?" it asked indistinctly.

"Yeah." Harry drew a shuddering breath. Victims. They were victims, not monsters. "Voldemort, the wizard who summoned you here, is dead." He was horribly aware of the clammy fingers on his arm. The Inferi could drown him in seconds if they chose to. "Go in peace," he said, and wondered if they could hear the tremor in his voice. What if the book was wrong?

Without a word, without a change in expression, the Inferius dropped Harry's arm and stepped through the ring of fire. Even knowing what to expect, as Harry did, it was still a shock when he simply disappeared. Around them, the Inferi murmured, and Harry shared a charged glance with Ginny through the flames. It looked as if their plan was really working.

"Go into the long death," he said, recollecting a phrase from the book. "This fire will take away your torment."

Another Inferius - the one wearing the Auror robes - stepped forward, looked searchingly at Harry for one heart-stopping moment and flung himself into the fire. He, too, disappeared like the first.

The next pair walked into the flames hand in hand. After that, the Inferi pressed forward en masse, and Harry poured his own power into the flames alongside Ginny's. He could no longer see her through the crowd of Inferi, but he could tell by the heat of the fire that her arm remained steadfast, as he had known it would.

Finally, there were only a few of them left, and Harry met Ginny's gaze through the flames. There were tears on her face, but her wand did not falter. There had been so much suffering in this place. So many wrongs done in Voldemort's name.

Well, there would be fewer wrongs to account for after today. The last Inferius disappeared into the flames without a sound, and Harry and Ginny let their arms drop at last. The fire winked out, leaving only the Resurrection Stone, a circle of grey against the black rock. When Harry bent to retrieve it, it was cold.

* * *

><p><strong>Zero<strong>

Ginny drew a breath that was half a sob. "So that's that."

Harry nodded, unable to speak.

Ginny fumbled in her robes and brought out the memorial plaque that they had prepared for this moment. Harry ran his wand over the inscription, although he knew it by heart.

_An army was laid to rest here. May they be at peace._

He placed it on the ground at the water's edge, and cast the charm that would ensure it was never seen by any Muggles who might find their way here.

Silently, Ginny handed him the second plaque.

Harry hesitated. They had debated the idea of trying to find and bury Regulus, and had decided against it. Neither of them had much idea what a person who had drowned twenty years previously would look like, except that it would not be pleasant.

And yet, as Harry placed this plaque beside the first one, he paused.

"Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I just..." His voice sounded distant even to himself, as if he were talking underwater. He turned the Resurrection Stone over in his palm.

"Harry," Ginny repeated. There was a warning note in her tone, but he ignored it.

He turned the stone again.

A slight figure appeared a few metres away, and a thrill ran down Harry's spine. Here, at last, was Regulus Black, who had died so bravely and so young.

The figure floated closer; it was indistinct, but Harry knew he was right. It was Regulus, ready for a second chance at life, and Harry had the power to give it to him.

Ginny was remonstrating with him, but she was far away and Harry had the Resurrection Stone; he could make everything right if he chose, and he _did_ choose. He turned the stone a third time.

Someone else appeared behind Regulus, and Harry's heart leapt. Sirius would be the way he had looked before Azkaban; before Harry's parents had died; perhaps even before Regulus had died.

Harry grinned at the approaching figures, even as uncertainty pricked at him; he could see no answering smiles on their shadowy faces, and it occurred to him belatedly that Sirius looked nothing like the carefree figure who had appeared to him in the Forbidden Forest. His face was blank, as was Regulus's, but as Harry raised his arms in greeting, Sirius did, too, and it was too late when Harry realised that Sirius was not going to-

A heavy weight knocked him to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was lying at the water's edge and Ginny was wresting the Resurrection Stone from his grasp. Before he could protest, she had thrown it far out into the water with all her Chaser's strength.

"Don't you remember your fairytales?" she asked, shaking him gently with every word. "The second brother, who ended up killing himself? You don't use that thing."

She climbed off him and he scrambled to his feet, but the apparitions had disappeared. _Sirius_ had disappeared.

"Sirius!" he yelled, and the name echoed around the cavern as if the earth itself were mocking him. "Regulus!"

A warm hand touched his arm. He turned on Ginny, ready to unleash his rage at what she had done. But she was shaking her head, her face utterly calm, and it was that which finally brought home to him what _he_ had very nearly done.

"It's all right," she said gently as his legs gave way. "I've got you. It's all right." She kept up a litany of soothing remarks as she lowered him to the ground, and held him while he sobbed out his grief for Regulus, for Sirius, for his parents, for Remus, for all the people he hadn't been able to save.

When he came back to himself, he kissed her and realised that she was crying, too. They clung together for a moment, and then he pushed himself onto his knees.

"Let's finish this."

She took his hand, and together their wands illuminated the inscription they had prepared for Regulus:

_Here lies Regulus Black, the bravest of wizards._

Ginny murmured the concealment charm and they climbed painfully to their feet. It was time to seek out life again.

* * *

><p>This story was written for the takingitinturns fest on livejournal. It is canon-compliant, but deviates from interview canon in one respect. Thank you to flyingcarpet for beta-reading and for organising the fest in the first place.<p> 


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